Emmy Award-winning cinematographer and photographer Shawn Heinrichs collaborated on an incredible underwater photoshoot with fashion photographer Kristian Schmidt and two professional underwater models, Roberta Mancino and Hannah Fraser. The entire shoot, which took four months to prepare for and five 20-hour days to shoot, saw the models swimming with giant sea creatures like whale sharks, manta rays and sailfish off the Philippines coast.

The shoot was done to depict marine life interactions and raise awareness for at-risk ocean-dwelling species. While the whale shark may be the largest fish in the world, measuring 30 feet long and weighing 20,000 pounds, it is completely docile and poses no danger to humans.

Though the lighting and color levels have been tweaked in the final images, nothing else has been Photoshopped. Check out the gorgeous images from the ambitious undersea shoot in the gallery below.

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The photographers and models successfully raised awareness for the endangered creatures, as the photos quickly went viral. Share these remarkable images with others below!